YouTube updates Kids App with extra features to appease anxious parents

According to YouTube, videos available in the app are determined largely by algorithmic filtering, similar to YouTube more generally.

Parents will also be prompted to choose between enabling the Search function or turning it off, thereby limiting the littl’uns to a smaller hand-picked selection of content presumably guaranteed to be free of ads for alcohol and videos of Sesame Street characters turning the air blue.

YouTube unveiled new features for its kids app Thursday, a move that underscores the video platform’s efforts to make the app more family-friendly. The Internet giant aims to bring children and families more educational and family-friendly tools. YouTube, however, admits that ‘no system is ideal, ‘ asking parents to participate in improving the service.

YouTube Kids has got an update on Android and iOS with a few useful features, including Chromecast support and curated playlists. Parents can also customize their own pass codes in parental controls, rather than using a generated spelled-out code.

For YouTube Kids, the videos to be included in the service are selected and then organized into different categories such as Music, Shows, Explore and Learning.

After being reported to the FTC twice by parent and child advocacy groups for not being family friendly enough, Google is preparing an update for YouTube Kids that it expects will address the content issues, the Verge reports. “Anyone can flag a video and these videos are manually reviewed 24/7 and any videos that don’t belong in the app are removed”. The company revealed that the app has seen 8 million downloads since its February launch. Other content creators, such as Kid President and National Geographic Kids, have rolled out playlists based around specific themes. More shows are being created, produced, and uploaded to YouTube Kids every day too.